Tsunami brings in investors not driving them away

Zakki P. Hakim, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The devastating Dec. 26 quake and tsunami in Aceh and parts of North Sumatra, apparently did not deter global investors from examining prospects in the country.

Organizers of next week's Infrastructure Summit say they are trying to accommodate the requests for participation in the event.

There are at least 700 potential investors, foreign and domestic, requesting a seat in the by-invitation-only 500-seat event, according to the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin). Kadin serves as the government's partner in organizing the event.

"We have now 312 global investors, leaving very limited place for domestic players," the event organizing co-chairman John A. Prasetio told The Jakarta Post over the weekend.

He added that foreign investors became more enthusiastic after the disaster and would dominate the event.

"Maybe we are supposed to prioritize foreign investors to give President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono an opportunity to meet with them instead of visiting them one by one in their respective countries," John said, adding it would significantly cut down the President's travel budget.

He added that many of the potential investors asked about investing in infrastructure in Aceh, which was badly destroyed by the disaster.

Therefore, the organizers would include a special session on infrastructure investment in disaster struck areas especially Aceh, said John, who is also Kadin's vice chairman for international economic cooperation.

The government has estimated that the country would need at least US$2 billion to rebuild the ruined infrastructure in Aceh over the next five years.

The first Indonesian Infrastructure Summit is expected to raise up to $74 billion over the next five years for various infrastructure projects -- focusing on power and energy, toll roads, transportation, water and sanitation, ports and airports and telecommunications sectors.

Potential investors, including giant multinational names such as General Electric, Siemens, Paiton Energy, Sumitomo Corp., Alcatel and Motorola, are confident of the government's seriousness in undertaking massive infrastructure projects over the next five years.

During the summit, the government will present a new infrastructure development strategy to the public as well as formulate strategy in a public-private partnership to ensure effective implementation of the new strategy.

The summit, to be held on Jan. 17 and Jan. 18 at the Shangri- La Hotel, Central Jakarta, is officially hosted by the Office of Coordinating Minister for the Economy and the National Development Planning Agency (Bappenas).

Susilo is expected to give a keynote speech and mingle with investors at an official dinner reception on the first day. Meanwhile, Vice President Jusuf Kalla will give a closing keynote address the next day.

Among the proposed speakers at the summit are ambassadors from neighboring countries, top executives from international corporate players, global funding institutions such as the World Bank, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC).